Go for a yoga retreat in Santa Teresa Costa Rica in 2016

Yoga retreats at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat, on award-winning Santa Teresa Beach in Costa Rica, draw people from all over the world. So do Pranamar Villas´ daily yoga classes with popular instructor and Pranamar yoga director, Nancy Goodfellow.
Now Nancy will be holding two inspirational Costa Rica yoga retreats, called “Embracing Totality”, at Pranamar Villas in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, next year in 2016. The seven-night all-inclusive retreats will be held May 21 to 28, 2016 and Aug. 13 to 18, 2016´in Pranamar´s beautiful, spacious beachfront Yoga Shala
“So many people come to Pranamar for yoga classes with Nancy. She is very popular in the yoga world,” said Agustina Zocchi at Pranamar Villas.

Nancy has been practicing yoga for 20 years and teaching for 15 years. She is extremely well-known among local and international yoga students for her inspiring and creative daily yoga classes, workshops, and retreats at Pranamar Villas.
Nancy began her yogic studies in the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition. Following her dream of adventure and living a more simple life in nature, she moved to Costa Rica and continued her yogic practice, while continuing to study with top international yoga instructors. Nancy has completed more than 500 hours of Yoga Alliance teacher training and began teaching classes in 1998. Nancy dedicated many years of study also to the Anusara method of yoga, with its principles of alignment, Tantric philosophy and Bhakti filled practice. She has completed more than 500 hours of certified Anusara teachings and traditional non-dualistic Tantra studies.

The all-inclusive “Embracing Totality” yoga retreats at Pranamar Villas will include:

• Twice daily Tantric-based Hatha Yoga practices – morning Shakti Flow Vinyasa and afternoon moon practices
• Daily meditations and mantra practices
• Seven nights’ accommodation at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas
• Three daily delicious, healthy meals at Pranamar Villas’ Buddha Eyes Restaurant
• An evening dinner out at a local beachfront restaurant
• A one-hour therapeutic massage treatment at Pranamar Villas’ Spa
• A Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) adventure tour on the Rio Bongo by Santa Teresa
• A Sacred Fire ceremony (letting go of anything to release) and Water Blessing (to honor the ocean and the wishes desired in life)

Optional activities during the Pranamar yoga retreat include:

• Surfing and/or private surf lessons
• Private yoga sessions with Nancy
• Mayan Calendar Astrological readings

Rates for the Embracing Totality yoga retreats at Pranamar Villas range from $1,500 to $2,900, depending on the choice of accommodation, and whether single or double occupancy. Accommodations at Pranamar Villas include luxurious Poolside Villas, Oceanfront Bungalows, and the large two-story shared Kula House.
Santa Teresa Costa Rica yoga retreats at Pranamar Villas fill up fast so make reservations today! Pack your bags, grab your mat, and travel to the beach in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica for a yoga retreat with Nancy Goodfellow at the amazing beachfront Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat.
Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat
The beachfront hotel in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, on the southern Nicoya Peninsula, specializes in Costa Rica yoga vacations and Costa Rica surfing vacations. Pranamar Villas was named a Top 5 Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica by Travel & Leisure Magazine, and was awarded TripAdvisor´s 2015 Certificate of Excellence. Santa Teresa Beach was chosen one of the Top 15 Places to Go in 2015 by Condé Nast Traveler, and holds the status of being one of the cleanest beaches in Costa Rica.
Public yoga classes at Pranamar Villas are held from Monday to Saturday in the hotel’s beautiful oceanfront Yoga Shala. All classes are taught for students of all levels, with variations and modifications offered and encouraged. Mats and props are available at no extra charge. Private yoga sessions can be arranged with Nancy. Pranamar's yoga class schedule changes weekly and is posted on their Facebook page.
If you are a yoga instructor interested in having a yoga retreat at Pranamar Villas, contact the hotel.
Article by Shannon Farley

Happiness, bliss & the beauty of life on Santa Teresa Beach

Are you happy?

That seems to be the question being asked in recent times, from boardrooms to bars, international conference centers to offices of government leaders, business schools to book stores. Are we happy? Following our bliss? Living our passion? Are we "me-focused" or "others-focused"?

The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan even measures its country's prosperity by its "gross national happiness" (GNH), measuring the spiritual, physical, social and environmental health and happiness of its citizens and natural environment. Bhutan's policy attracted great interest at the United Nations climate change conference in Doha, Qatar last December.

Costa Rica has made it to #1 on the Happy Planet Index for two years in a row (2012 & 2011), based on its national conservation policies, small ecological footprint, high quality of life and life expectancy rate all being "exceedingly above par", states Forbes Magazine. The Happy Planet Index is an annual survey conducted by the New Economics Foundation, a British think-tank that aims to measure the level of happiness in every country in the world. The ranking system establishes a solid link between happiness and the environment or nature.

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Susan Money and Greg Mullins followed their bliss 20 or so years ago to live in harmony with nature in Costa Rica. The California couple first opened a bed and breakfast hotel, then the very successful Florblanca Hotel on Playa Santa Teresa, and now are owners of the highly popular Pranamar Ocean Front Villas and Yoga Retreat, also on Santa Teresa Beach.

"The Pranamar experience is a unique one. Rather than the typical corporate model, we work under the family model. Pranamar evolved from a sense of oneness – a desire to be in community with people we love and people who simply make us feel good," explains Pranamar owner Susan Money.

Pranamar Villas is a gorgeous, intimate luxury hotel fronting the spectacular beach of Playa Santa Teresa on the southern Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. A Trip Advisor award winner, Pranamar offers luxurious two-story poolside villas, elaborate oceanfront villas and tropical bungalows, all designed with Indonesian flair. Pranamar evolved from the Susan and Greg's experience of living in the Indonesian island-paradise of Bali. They loved living alongside a river where neighbors gathered in community. In that image, they created the four poolside villas alongside the "river" of their winding saltwater pool, along with abundant lush tropical gardens throughout the property. A hidden statue here and there, shells and rocks artistically placed in the pathways, all lend beauty to the eye at every turn.

The hotel's name shows the owners' passion in what they do. "Prana" in Sanskrit means "vital energy" and "breath". "Mar" means ocean in Spanish. There is definitely an uplifting energy at Pranamar.

"At Pranamar, I feel like what we're really doing is inviting guests to experience the beauty of life," comments Nancy Goodfellow, Yoga instructor at Pranamar and Susan's daughter. "To get out of our usual routines; to step aside and see this amazing nature around us and the beauty within us – this vital energy that is all around us. Simultaneously, one will experience this deep tranquility and inner peacefulness."

The long tranquil beach of Santa Teresa is nearly perfect with its light beige-white sand shimmering with crushed shells and volcanic sea glass in the sunlight, shady palm and almond trees, and spectacular sunsets. Along with world-class surfing and top-quality Yoga classes, retreats and package vacations, there are numerous activities to do in the area, such as snorkeling, horseback riding, canopy zip line tours and nature tours.

"The memories and friendships established at Pranamar will linger in our collective hearts for a lifetime," notes Susan.

The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play. Arnold Toynbee

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Albert Schweitzer

By Shannon Farley